Having just caught the video of JJJr’s presser this afternoon, I must say he’s either a far better actor than I find conceivable or he’s truly outraged by what Blagojevich has done and took no part in it himself. So I agree with Josh’s assessment:
… Most telling was the report from Jackson’s lawyer today that the feds called Jackson as Blagojevich was being arrested to give him a heads up that the arrest was happening and that Jackson might see his name in the news. If this all bears out and Jackson turns out to be a victim here, too, it’s hard not to feel pretty bad for the guy. Yeah, yeah, he’s an experienced pol and a big boy and all that. But still a pretty a raw deal thanks to Blagojevich …
Apparently Wolf Blitzer had complementary news late this afternoon too: the Feds do not have Jackson on tape speaking directly to Blagojevich. So his adamant statement that he neither authorized nor knew of anyone’s approaching the governor on his behalf feels quite viable — more viable, perhaps, than his chances of getting this Senate seat, however fair that may be.
UPDATE: Although Josh Marshall’s impression is that the FBI contacted Jackson “as Blagojevich was being arrested” — i.e., crack-of-dawn Tuesday — the Sun-Times says they actually tipped him off Monday night. An important difference, that.
Everyone in the process is a bit tainted, I suppose, but the eventual nominee is more tainted than anyone. It doesn’t matter if any of them is guilty of anything – they can always be accused of making bribe attempts via intermediaries, mutual friends, coded messages in radio addresses, or whatever. This is the sort of thinking that keeps conspiracy theories going long after their freshness date has passed.
That’s why only a special election can really resolve this.
Nice to see Dr X indicating that I’m not the only one who suspects Blago of being a sociopath.
I’m not convinced of Jesse Jr.’s innocence here. The allegations suggest that the willing candidate negotiated through an intermediary. While Jr. himself may not have made direct contact, that does not mean that he did not use such an intermediary. As all of us should have learned from the Godfather movies, the family has a lot of “buffers”.
And the fact that he is out in public making these statements when he has not even been officially accused of anything yet speaks volumes. Very often, its the guilty dog who is barking the loudest.
I’m reminded of other famous denials: “I’m not a crook” (R. Nixon) and “I did not have sex with that woman…….uhhh…….Miss Lewinsky” (Bill Clinton).
So, despite his now very public denials before any official accusations, I think this situation warrants just a peek or two below the surface. I trust our federal crime fighting friends will agree.
ot a wallmart in Canada is now unionized after a 4 yr battle. Bout time!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/10/191117/78/588/671667
We’ll all see soon enuf when the dust settles. I hope JJJ is not dirty but I withhold my vote for the time being. He did say the feebs told him he is not a “target” but he may be a “subject”.
BTW, I now know from whence comes Blago’s big hair. He’s an Elvis fan. Maybe he can get a gig during Dead Elvis week in Memphis for the Elvis impersonator contest.
lotus @3, IL state representative Joe Lyons was just on Rachel Maddow stating the same, citing some fairly bizarre behavior.
JJJ would be bright enough to have cut-outs.
The part of this puzzle that’s trouble for JJJ is the intermediary– if Blagojevich was not just blowing smoke, or the “intermediary” not freelancing, then JJJ has potential trouble here.
Intermediaries make perfect flip-material, because getting them to flip to say what went on with their principals is part of the game.
If JJJ is dirty, he probably should thank his stars Fitzgerald felt necessary to act when he did, because ordinary orderly processes would have worked like this: expand the wiretaps by getting prob cz on the intermediary, then, woops! new people get caught on tape. The normal time-taking efforts would have generated more evidence against a broader circle, but Fitzgerald rightly thought he needed to intervene.
Fascinating drama. I view it as unknowable whether JJJ is implicated except that the intermediary suggests trouble.
Would that we had a coupla’ Patrick Fitzgeralds as USAs in Mississippi.
Guess you saw that Bob Greenlee resigned yesterday, pretty-much confirming that he’s “Deputy Governor A.” His lawyer told the AP the reason “should be obvious.”
I thought the “obvious” has always been “to spend more time with my family”. Remarkable!
With one Madigan talking about the Supremes taking him on and another Madigan talking about the legislature impeaching him, Blago is getting squeezed even tighter.